posted on April 26, 2006 04:02:14 PM new
Please note Helen Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson,
Why didn't he speak out when he was active?
Because he would have lost his strips, pay and retirement. Like a he coward waits, like the others, until his service time is up and then comdemn the country that paid them.
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posted on April 26, 2006 04:52:15 PM new
No, libra...I don't think that it's a selfish move to wait until retirement to make such critical statements. As Gen. John Batiste explained to Jim Lehrer, while he was actively serving he had to keep his soldiers alive and focused on the mission at hand.
He said, "There are times that you're told to do things that you don't agree with and you're given an opportunity to rebut, to give reasons why it shouldn't be that way. And at the end of the day, you either salute and execute or you make a decision to retire or resign; that's the way it is."
"Most retire when they are not willing to compromise further the principles of war."
posted on April 26, 2006 06:30:55 PM new
"I am convinced that the best service a retired general can perform is to turn in his tongue along with his suit, and to mothball his opinions." —General Omar Bradley
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Rumsfeld and the Retired Generals
Six generals have spoken out against him. Is that a lot?
By Daniel Engber
It's hard to get good numbers, but the Explainer estimates that about 4,700 general officers are enjoying their retirement in the United States right now. (For a detailed look at the data and the Explainer's calculations, click here.) That means the six former generals who stepped forward to criticize Rumsfeld make up about one-tenth of 1 percent of the total community.
Retired generals pipe up all the time. In March, five of them wrote a letter to the Supreme Court asking that Justice Scalia recuse himself from the Hamdan case. In January, nine generals and three admirals banded together as the "Retired Generals Against Torture" and sent an open letter to the Senate judiciary committee. During campaign season, retired generals issue small-group political endorsements.
Bonus Explainer: The group of six that have been in the news includes four major generals, one lieutenant general, and one general. What's the difference? The plain old "general" has the highest rank—he wears four stars on his uniform. Three-star generals are called lieutenant generals, and two stars get you the title of major general. Brigadier generals wear only one star. (The Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps all use "general" titles. In the Navy, the top four positions are admiral, vice admiral, and two levels of rear admiral.)
http://www.slate.com/id/2139847/?nav=tap3
"“More Iraqis think things are going well in Iraq than Americans do. I guess they don’t get the New York Times over there.”—Jay Leno".
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